[http://qt.nokia.com/ Qt] is one of the many UI frameworks that runs on the Beagle. It also runs on many other platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and it appears to be one of the more popular choices for the Beagle. It even runs on [http://qt.nokia.com/products/qt-for-mobile-platforms dumb cell phones]. We'll be using it with X11, however there is an [http://developer.qt.nokia.com/wiki/Support_for_Embedded_Linux embedded version] that doesn't need X.

[http://tigraphics.blogspot.com/2013/01/qt-500-final-dec-2012-available-on-ti.html TI Graphics site] has the latest version of QT.

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Qt can be developed solely on the Beagle, but I suggest you install it on both your host and the Beagle. Compilations on the Beagle may only take 20 or 30 seconds, but run much faster on the host.

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=== Installing v6 ===

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I'm running with v6 since it's an easy download on both the host and Beagle. You also get the sources for the examples this way.

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==== Installing on the host ====

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I think this is all I did on the host. This assumes you have oe installed.

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host$ '''source ~/.oe/environment-2008'''

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host$ '''bitbake qt4-x11-free-gles'''

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==== Installing on the Beagle ====

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Here's what I've installed on the Beagle

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beagle$ '''opkg update'''

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beagle$ '''opkg install qt4-x11-free''' # 3 minutes

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beagle$ '''opkg install qmake2''' # 1 minute

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beagle$ '''opkg install qt4-x11-free-dev''' # 4 minutes

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beagle$ '''opkg install qt4-x11-free-doc''' # 5 minutes

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I had to hack a couple of things before running qmake.

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beagle$ '''cd /usr/bin'''

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beagle$ '''ln -s moc moc-qt4'''

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beagle$ '''ln -s uic uic-qt4'''

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beagle$ '''ln -s qmake-qt4 qmake'''

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beagle$ '''source /usr/share/qt4/environment-setup'''

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Be sure to source the setup file before running qmake for the first time.

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Check out the qt demos and documentation.

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beagle$ '''qtdemo'''

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beagle$ '''midori file:///usr/share/doc/qt4/html/index.html'''

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The following appears to load some qt examples with source code in /usr/share/ICS. You'll also find examples in /usr/bin/qt4/examples.

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beagle$ '''opkg install linuxtag-ics''' # 1 minute

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=== Installing v5 ===

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Version 5 is what you get when you use the package managers. I don't know how to get the source for the examples with this approach.

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==== Installing on the host ====

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Just run:

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host$ '''sudo apt-get update'''

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host$ '''sudo apt-get install libqwt-dev''' # 1 minute

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host$ '''opkg intall libqwt-examples''' # 1 minute

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==== Installing on the Beagle ====

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Just run:

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beagle$ '''opkg update'''

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beagle$ '''opkg intall libqwt-dev''' # 1 minute

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beagle$ '''opkg intall libqwt-examples''' # 1 minute

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== Qt Tutorials ==

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=== Widgets ===

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There are several nice Qt Tutorials [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/tutorials.html here]. I suggest you start with the [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/widgets-tutorial.html Widgets Tutorial]. Here's how you can run the examples on the Beagle.

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# Go to the [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/tutorials-widgets-toplevel.html Creating a Window] tutorial and download the '''main.cpp''' and '''toplevel.pro''' files. Put them in their own directory.

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# Run '''qmake'''. (Be sure you have sourced the file noted above.) This will create a Makefile.

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# Run '''make'''. This should compile the program. It takes about 30 seconds for the first make.

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# Do an '''ls''' to see what files were created. You should see '''toplevel'''. Run it.

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# Congratulations, you've just compiled and run your first Qt program.

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Work through the rest of the widgets tutorials to learn about building at Qt from the bottom up. The [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/tutorials-addressbook.html Address Book] tutorials look like they are also a good place to explore.

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=== Qt Designer ===

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It's possible to build a user interface from the command line, building a graphics user interface is more easily done with a graphical program. [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/designer-manual.html Qt Designer] is Qt's tool for designing and building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) from Qt components. The [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/designer-quick-start.html Qt Designer Tutorial] is a good overview of what Designer can do. Designer runs on the host and the Beagle and should already be installed.

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The Qt Designer tutorial ends rather quickly. I suggest you follow it up by looking at the [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.7/examples-designer.html Qt Designer Examples]. Here you will learn different ways to take the '''*.ui''' file created by Designer and use it with your other Qt code.

== Useful Links ==

== Useful Links ==

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* The [http://qt.nokia.com/ Qt site]

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Here are some usefule links I've found.

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* [http://treyweaver.blogspot.com/2010/10/setting-up-qt-development-environment.html Setting Up Qt Development Environment for BeagleBoard-xM] has some nice instructions on getting QT going on the Beagle.

: If you are thinking small, maybe you don't want X running on your Beagle. If so, look at Qt Embedded. It write straight to the frame buffer.

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; [http://treyweaver.blogspot.com/2010/10/setting-up-qt-development-environment.html Setting Up Qt Development Environment for BeagleBoard-xM]

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: This site has some nice instructions on getting QT going on the Beagle by recompiling everything. I don't think recompiling is really necessary. It's set up for using Qt embedded.

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== Qt Quick and Qt Creator ==

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Qt Quick is another way of building a UI. [http://qt.nokia.com/qtquick/ Qt Quick] is based on JavaScript, HTML and CSS. [http://qt.nokia.com/products/developer-tools Qt Creator] is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) tailored to the needs of Qt developers; however it doesn't appear to run on the Beagle. I need to look into this some more.

I'm working through [http://doc.trolltech.com/qtcreator-2.2/creator-qml-application.html this] example. I can't change '''mousearea1''' to '''MouseArea''' to match the figure. I think something is missing in the instructions.

I'm working through [http://doc.trolltech.com/qtcreator-2.2/creator-qml-application.html this] example. I can't change '''mousearea1''' to '''MouseArea''' to match the figure. I think something is missing in the instructions.

Line 28:

Line 138:

</pre>

</pre>

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== Installs ==

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== Real-time Plotting - QWT ==

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Here's what I've installed on the Beagle

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QWT is short for Qt Widgets for Technical Applications. It is a collection of widgets and support classes for creating technical applications. I hope to use it to do real-time plotting on the Beagle.

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<pre>

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opkg install qt4-demos

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[http://qwt.sourceforge.net/ Here] is the main qwt site. [http://www.digitalfanatics.org/projects/qt_tutorial/chapter11.html Here] is some info on QWT. I think it might be able to plot data as it comes in.

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opkg install linuxtag-ics

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opkg install

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Here's how I think I installed it on the host.

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</pre>

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host$ '''svn co https://qwt.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/qwt/branches/qwt-6.0''' # This is straight from the qwt site.

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host$ '''cd qwt-6.0'''

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host$ '''gedit qwtconfig.pri'''

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Around line 108, uncomment <code>QWT_CONFIG += QwtExamples</code>. This will compile the examples too.

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host$ '''qmake-qt4'''

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host$ '''make'''

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After a while it should be ready to run. Explore the '''examples''' folder. The Makefiles are setup to put all the binarys in examples/bin. Try running them.

Latest revision as of 16:03, 18 May 2013

Qt is one of the many UI frameworks that runs on the Beagle. It also runs on many other platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and it appears to be one of the more popular choices for the Beagle. It even runs on dumb cell phones. We'll be using it with X11, however there is an embedded version that doesn't need X.

Installing on the Beagle

Qt Tutorials

Widgets

There are several nice Qt Tutorials here. I suggest you start with the Widgets Tutorial. Here's how you can run the examples on the Beagle.

Go to the Creating a Window tutorial and download the main.cpp and toplevel.pro files. Put them in their own directory.

Run qmake. (Be sure you have sourced the file noted above.) This will create a Makefile.

Run make. This should compile the program. It takes about 30 seconds for the first make.

Do an ls to see what files were created. You should see toplevel. Run it.

Congratulations, you've just compiled and run your first Qt program.

Work through the rest of the widgets tutorials to learn about building at Qt from the bottom up. The Address Book tutorials look like they are also a good place to explore.

Qt Designer

It's possible to build a user interface from the command line, building a graphics user interface is more easily done with a graphical program. Qt Designer is Qt's tool for designing and building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) from Qt components. The Qt Designer Tutorial is a good overview of what Designer can do. Designer runs on the host and the Beagle and should already be installed.

The Qt Designer tutorial ends rather quickly. I suggest you follow it up by looking at the Qt Designer Examples. Here you will learn different ways to take the *.ui file created by Designer and use it with your other Qt code.

This site has some nice instructions on getting QT going on the Beagle by recompiling everything. I don't think recompiling is really necessary. It's set up for using Qt embedded.

Qt Quick and Qt Creator

Qt Quick is another way of building a UI. Qt Quick is based on JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Qt Creator is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) tailored to the needs of Qt developers; however it doesn't appear to run on the Beagle. I need to look into this some more.

I'm working through this example. I can't change mousearea1 to MouseArea to match the figure. I think something is missing in the instructions.